Exit Strategy
What’s one thing we’re all good at? How about not talking — or even thinking — about end-of-life issues.
Episodes
When his son Nadav died at the age of five, James G. Robinson was propelled into a journey of grief and a search for meaning that over time deepened his identity as a parent, his relationship to Jewish thought and tradition, and his view of the world he walks through every day. In conversation with […]
The post The Grief of a Father appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
A grounded perspective on mortality and loss can be powerfully life affirming — among the themes in Sprinkle Glitter on My Grave, a 2016 book by popular author, actor, humorist and consummate New Yorker, Jill Kargman. Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry speaks with Jill about how the realities of end-of life shape her lens on […]
The post On Life, Laughter and Loss appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Obituary writing is an art, capturing not only the facts of a life, but also an individual’s singular essence and legacy. So how do we ensure an obituary is well informed and properly nuanced? Should we consider writing our own … even as a form of self-reflection and examination? Andrew Silow-Carroll — editor-at-large at New […]
The post Reflections of an Obituary Writer appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
When Plaza Jewish Community Chapel opened in 2001, it immediately began to elevate conversations on end-of-life issues and practices, and to create partnerships strengthening the fabric of Jewish life and observance in New York City and beyond. In this special anniversary episode, Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry speaks with B’nai Jeshurun Senior Rabbi and Rosh […]
The post Plaza@25: Building, Honoring and Serving Community appea...
As a young boy during WWII, Sami Steigmann spent three years in a Nazi labor camp at Mogilev-Podolsky, in the Transnistria region of Ukraine. Now living in New York, he devotes himself to telling his story and sharing his practice of resilience — and embrace of life. Marking Yom HaShoah — Holocaust Remembrance Day — […]
The post A Holocaust Survivor’s Legacy of Life appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
For those raised outside of the Jewish faith, learning about Jewish traditions — including those surrounding end-of-life — is key to nourishing interfaith relationships, and also to advancing the conversion process. Fifteen years ago, Rabbi Lisa Rubin joined Central Synagogue in New York City and established the Center for Exploring Judaism, a structured space for […]
The post Raised Outside Jewish Faith, Now Learning Jewish End-of...
Plaza Jewish Community Chapel opened in 2021 with a nonprofit model elevating dignity, affordability, and education on end-of-life issues, and over a quarter century has become rooted in New York City and beyond as a dynamic mainstay of Jewish communal life and service. In this special episode — as Plaza moves towards its 25th anniversary […]
The post Plaza@25: The Vision and The Impact appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chap...
Telling our stories — and listening to those of others — connects us through common journeys, often difficult ones, grief included. In a new, bestselling anthology about the Jewish experience post-October 7 — On Being Jewish Now: Reflections from Authors and Advocates — Zibby Owens, a prominent author, publisher and podcaster, brings together diverse voices […]
The post Storytelling, on the Path through Grief appeared first on Plaz...
In Pacific Palisades, in the midst of the overwhelming destruction and grief wrought by the January infernos, Kehillat Israel (KI) stands and endures as a symbol and beacon of hope and renewal. Rabbi Daniel Sher — who lost his home along with hundreds of other KI congregants — speaks just weeks after the fires with […]
The post After the Devastating Fires, The Jewish Roadmap Forward appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Living through or witnessing devastation and loss — such as that caused by fires in Los Angeles, or war in Israel — generates levels of stress, trauma and grief. Embracing and practicing hope and resilience is critical for our emotional and physical health, says Dr. Eva Selhub — a prominent expert and writer on human […]
The post Facing Challenge, the Power of Resilience appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
End-of-life conversations and practices are increasingly emergent in the Jewish community, as communal entities bring attention to the value and beauty of deeply rooted Jewish thought and tradition surrounding death. Kavod v’Nichum (Hebrew for “Honor and Comfort”) is creating and empowering Chevra Kadisha — sacred communities that care for the deceased and comfort the living. […]
In his new and widely acclaimed book — “For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today” — Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue in NYC uses Jewish history and storytelling to frame the challenges facing the Jewish community post-Oct 7 … the individual and collective grief and sense of isolation … and […]
The post Post-October 7, Reaching for Community, Future and Hope: A Conversation with Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove appeared fir...
A year after October 7, we are individually and collectively seeking a marker to frame our grief and our trauma, but is that even possible? “The difficulty of commemorating October 7 is that we’re still in the middle of it … you can’t look back with a sense of completion,” says Rabbi Donald Goor, Rabbi […]
The post October 7: Marking a Year, and Embracing Hope appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Monuments are the types of memorials — headstones, footstones, markers and more — we place at a loved one’s final resting place, and honor a life. So what are our choices? How creative can we be with design? When should we start to think about a monument, and what about maintaining it over time? Adam […]
The post From Headstones to Footstones: Marking and Honoring a Life appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
Can universal principles of spirituality join with classic psychotherapy and other modes of western medicine to help us navigate our journeys and their challenges? Anna Yusim, MD, a Stanford and Yale educated and board certified psychiatrist and executive coach, has moved the holistic approach forward in practice and in myriad writings, including her recent book, […]
The post Embracing Spirituality on the Road of Life appeared firs...
Jewish not-for-profit funeral chapels are making impact not only as service providers, but also as educators, conveners and community builders in an evolving Jewish landscape. Plaza Jewish Community Chapel in New York City and Sinai Memorial Chapel in San Francisco are leaders of this unique and impactful model — here discussed by Stephanie Garry, Exit […]
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Tony Award winning actor Miriam Silverman lost her mother, Anita, during a pre-Broadway run of the hit play The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window just last year. Her father’s insistence that she stay committed to the play — along with her love for her craft — propelled her forward in a role, on a stage, […]
The post Grieving, an Actor Finds Anchor on the Stage appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
A current off-Broadway production, October 7: In Their Own Words, dramatizes the verbatim testimonies of Israelis from that and following days, revealing raw expressions and interpretations of trauma and grief … and also resilience. Director Geoffrey Cantor joins Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry to discuss this groundbreaking, original play … and how live theatre provides […]
Come Memorial Day, we will honor US military personnel who died while serving … and be mindful of our veterans and those among them we’ve lost. Edward Yarmus — a licensed funeral director at Plaza Jewish Community Chapel — is a US Air Force veteran himself. He speaks with Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry about […]
The post Honoring Those Who Served, at End of Life appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
She spends her professional life elevating conversations about death and loss — including as host of this podcast series. But when her own mother — Eileen — died in February, Stephanie Garry was thrust into the journey of mourning and grief herself, gaining new and greater perspective through the lens of her own family. In this special […]
The post And Now, My Own Loss and Grief appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.
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